STREIT’S UPHILL BATTLE FOR A NORRIS NOD
Only a final flourish will give him a shot at Vegas
Islanders fans believing Mark Streit will receive an invitation to Las Vegas for the NHL Awards Ceremony should be prepared for disappointment. Contrary to a lot of the talk over the last few days, Streit is a longshot to be one of the three finalists for the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman.
As the most valuable member of the league’s 30th-place team, Streit is unlikely to garner enough votes to break into the top three. The writers who do not vote for Streit will cite that he racked up a lot of points in games after the Islanders were out of the playoff race, and they will cite…well, that he’s the best defenseman on the league’s 30th-place team.
It’s important to understand that, unlike the Hart Trophy given to the league’s most valuable player, there is no mention of “value” in the judging of the Norris. The award is supposed to go purely to the league’s best defenseman. On those grounds, Streit unquestionably merits inclusion in the discussion.
But a Norris nomination is just not going to happen for Streit. Despite the language in the voting manual, most writers will go by the standard, “If Streit wasn’t on the Islanders, they’d still be in 30th.” This would be unfortunate and unfair, but it’s reality.
The Professional Hockey Writers Association is a group that for most of the last 15 years has presented the Masterton Trophy to players returning after recovering from injury or illness, from Mark Fitzpatrick to Jason Blake. The Masterton is supposed to go to “the player that best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” Coming back to your chosen career after a major injury or illness does not qualify as perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to “the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in his position.” Attention, PHWA: it doesn’t say anything about value to one of the league’s best teams. Nevertheless, expect Streit to be the odd man out.
Washington’s Mike Green is a lock for one of the nominations and the leading contender to take home the hardware in Vegas. Green leads the league in D scoring (24-36-60) and this season broke the record for goals by a dman in consecutive games.
As long as Detroit’s all-world Nicklas Lidstrom is upright, he’ll probably get a Norris nod. Lidstrom is 13-35-48 and +26. The only thing standing in the way of another Norris nomination for the great Lidstrom is that his teammate Brian Rafalski (9-44-53, +17) may be having an even better season. I don’t believe they will cancel each other out. Lidstrom will join Green as a Norris nominee.
In the battle with Streit for the final nomination are several worthy candidates, starting with Rafalski. Zdeno Chara, despite his brainlock on Streit’s Leetchian rush on Saturday, may get in. (The Norris is like the Gold Glove in MLB or the Pro Bowl in the NFL. Once you get a nom, it’s yours to lose). Andrei Markov will get all the votes from the writers in Montreal, who will never concede they were wrong about Streit. Boston’s Dennis Wideman (44 points, plus-30) has had an exceptional season, but Chara’s shadow is pretty big.
Shea Weber is so good, he overcomes the hurdle of getting press outside of Nashville. Sheldon Souray has 19 goals and the advantage of everyone in Edmonton falling all over themselves about him, like they used to for Eric Brewer. On the other hand, this will not be the year for studs Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.
My prediction for the third nomination after Green and Lidstrom is Dan Boyle. The first-year Shark is 14-34-48 and only +8. He’s the 5th leading scorer among NHL defensemen, while Streit is current tied for third. The big difference is Streit’s Islanders are last in the NHL and 14 games under .500, Boyle’s Sharks are second in the league and an incredible 32 games over .500. San Jose is also tied with Boston and New Jersey for the fewest goals allowed (167). Boyle leads the team with 24:40 average time on ice.
Mike Green. Nicklas Lidstrom. Dan Boyle. If Streit is in that conversation, it’s quite an honor. Put it this way: if the Islanders were one of the top teams in the league, and the Rangers, Flyers, Wild or any other team were in 30th but had a defenseman tied for third in scoring, would you think their player deserved one of three Norris nominations?
Streit has 12 more games to stake his claim. To have any chance, he’ll need to rack up some points to get past the 60 mark and separate himself from the pack after the unreachable Mike Green. If he does that - and upping his plus/minus into double-digits wouldn’t hurt - Streit’s odds of getting to Vegas rise from none to slim.
More importantly, Streit has had a wonderful season and is signed up for four additional years at better-than-market value. If the Islanders can add another top defenseman through the draft or free agency, his production (and visibility) will increase. When team success merges with personal honors, Streit and Islanders fans will really be able to savor it.
ETC: Islanders return to practice at Iceworks tomorrow and Thursday before leaving for games in Carolina (Friday) and Ottawa (Saturday)…Andy Sutton is signing autographs at the Islanders Team Store at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa on Wednesday from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
Comments.
97 Responses to “STREIT’S UPHILL BATTLE FOR A NORRIS NOD
Only a final flourish will give him a shot at Vegas”
Please Wait
I’m curious to see how a Streit/Sutton combination would look.
Yeah that figures. That’s why I watch the guys on the ice and try to ignore the rest. Because the rest is a bunch of crap. It could really get your blood boiling. Not to knock the other players who will be nominated, they all give so much for the sport.
Anyway, this fan knows Streit’s worthy and this fan is VERY grateful for his efforts. And HAHA to everyone else cuz we got him!
CB- I wanted to ask you this last night but forgot. You mentioned there is a possibility of signing a FA- defensemen. Considering we are rebuilding, a defensemen over the age of 28 or so seems to be a conflict of interests. Besides Komisarek (please), who are some other possible FA dmen that you would like to see the Islanders show interest in? Or…. do you think chances are higher we will see some AHL d-men (by that I mean guys like Hillen) get increased ice time next season? I’m sure it will be a combo of both, but do you have a specific preference? I know you don’t do a lot of FA speculation- but I am under the impression that the Isles won’t be making a lot of huge FA signings this offseason- if any at all. Thanks a lot.
Streit has definitely garnered a nod at the Norris, but the other players mentioned have done alot to make there teams better. Not to say that Streit hasn’t done the same, God knows where’d we be without him, but it’s important to take the Isles record into account. I honestly don’t think you can look past the fact that the Isles are 30th.
Avol (#3), in my opinion, we would need the older, more experienced d-men to help this rebuild. Defensemen usually take a lot longer to develop and to have a crew of 22-26 year olds on the blue line might only hinder the development of this team. As we get further into the ‘rebuild’, more youngsters could be added to offset the old guys on the point.
I’m really happy with Hillen’s play so far. He’ll never be a PP QB or win the Norris, but I can easily see him as a top-4 D-man on a winning team. If we end up with Hedman (no reason to rehash that topic now, but we can easily end up with the #2 pick even with the worst record), we’re 3/4 of the way to a blueline that can give us a deep playoff run year after year. No shot at Witt or Marty, but age isn’t on their side.
I think that is exactly right, CB. I’d be stunned if Streit is a Norris finalist. No way, not on the worst team in the NHL. I didn’t get Center Ice this season, so haven’t watched nearly as many non-Islanders games. I think this is the year (hopefully) that Lidstrom is pushed out since other Dmen (Rafalski, Chara, Boyle, Markov, etc.) have had strong statistical seasons.
My guesses: Green, Chara, Rafalski.
Make no mistake, Streit has made players around him better as well. When a player is that solid in all 3 zones, everyone on the ice with him has that much more confidence. No knock on Gervais but look at how well he’s played since being paired with Streit.
This said, I don’t think Streit is going to be a finalist for Norris nomination but it does speak volumes about this gem of a hockey player we’re oh so lucky to have for another 4 years.
CB, the Gold Glove analogy is a great one. Which is why I as well think Lidstrom will be there. BTW, I believe the correct spelling is “Leetchian”.
I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to the way the voters vote for awards. The Masterton is a glaring hole that the writers blindly vote for each year. By recent standards I would expect Ricky DiPietro to be a finalist next year if he comes back healthy and plays a full season.I think the last time a player won that wasn’t coming back from some type of injury it was Adam Graves. You’d think a guy like Brendan Shanahan would win it some day as well. As for the Norris trophy… the award does say best all round… not biggest point producer… which seems to be the way most nominees get selected for this award these days. Streit deserves mention based on his points and maintaining a plus rating on an inferior team compared to all those other players. Where would Streit streets numbers be playing with Ovie, or Thornton, or Detroit.
Sorry for going long.
So the Masterton Trophy will go to Richard Zednick? Hmmm.
30th place teams get a look when it comes to the Calder Trophy. But with the Norris– that usually goes to the dominating Dman on a good team. It’s the way it’s been. Can’t complain. When the Isles rejoin the NHL in 2011, if Streit is still playing at a high level, he’ll get a look then.
This is another reason why Tier 1 FA’s don’t sign with crap teams. Exposure & the ability to get individual recognition just isn’t an option. If Streit was on par to get a 100 points, then that’s different story.
Besides wins & losses don’t matter this year! Not on a team level, not an individual level. Hopefully, if Streit is disappointed, Flash pats him on the back & tells him that.
Streit will be in the top 2 for Norris. I don’t know if they can overlook Green’s historic season on both sides of the ice, though.
CB. Agreed. I can’t sum it up any more succinctly.
Streit likely won’t be nominated, but should be. Reality is that nominations factor in many other attributes as opposed to what their written charters are. It’s very subjective, unfortunately.
Don’t you get to vote?
Rafalski is great on the scoresheet but watching him on defense and positioning is like watching Carrot Top cooking next to julia Childs. He makes a lot of mistakes when you compare the two but looks solid if he was on another team.
I.E.: there is no player better than Lidstrom. KJ on defense, Streit on offense and a superb all around player who really makes Detroit what it is.
(a side note: Hedman, if he’s anything like Lids, is an absolute must in this case - stat freaks be angry if you must)
Mark Streit is getting plenty of notice around the NHL. Good for Mark, good for the Islanders.
The Masteron has become the sentimental vote, i.e. it’s a joke, and it would be better to end the joke unless the voters can develop better judgment yesterday.
#3, How long do you think the rebuild is going to take? Playoffs by 2020? (Just kidding.) A 28-year old defenseman is hardly old or on his last legs, you know. Streit turned 31 in December. A 28-year old is easily young enough, especially with the slower learning curve for defensemen taken into consideration. The team needs to have some steady NHL D-men to have any hope of competing for the playoffs. You can’t just put together a bunch of kids and call it a rebuild. That way you’ll end up rebuilding a team that never qualifies for the playoffs, and then doing another rebuild after that with the same results.
I know he won’t get the nomination he deserves, but the real fans here know what we have in Streit and are thrilled to have him patrolling our blueline through the prime of his career. As for the Montreal sportswriters, I’ll give the same one word answer that General McAuliffe gave to the Germans who were requesting his surrender in WWII–Nuts!
A comment on Streit’s age. Yes he is 31, but a young 31. He has only been playing in North America a few years. All those years playing in Europe were far less demanding on his body. So while he might be 31, his playing age is probably close to 27 or 28.
The only award/trophy that I care about is the Stanley Cup. I really could care less about individual awards.
I’m sure Streiter would take a playoff round win or too over a bunch of Norris trophy’s. So would I… patience people
If nothing else, and if they gave an award for offseason UFA signings,
…Streit has put Snow in the running for GM of The Year. (Even though the GM of the 30th place team shouldn’t get a sniff).
While nice for any potential publicity we’d get w/ an award nomination, let’s just hope he maintains this level of play throughout his contract…
CB: Would it be at all possible to show us Dennis Potvin’s numbers for the 4 years he lead the team in scoring. It would be interesting to see the comparisons to today’s best league D-man.
Not exactly pertinent, but no other site to let CB and other PBers know to watch for the “orange wave” Saturday nite in Ottawa. The NY Booster Club has a bus load full of us for the game. We’re wearing orange so everyone can see us. Help us root.
Agree with the spirit of this: Both the unlikelihood of a Streit Norris nomination and the off-the-grid direction of the Masterton in recent years. That trophy has always been plagued by a definition-of-terms problem.
But “coming back … from major injury or illness does not qualify” as perseverance and dedication?? Hmmm… million-dollar payday or not, I rather think it does.
Hey Chris! nice mention of your site over at uniwatch.com !
Streit is having a great year. Norris is a bit too much for this year ( if we were in the playoff hunt I would give him a 50/50 chance at best )
Now, if he does this next and lets say the Isles are in contention, I think he would land in the final 3 with ease.
** on a winning team he’s a +30 with ease imo
No question, if Streit’s sweater had red where the orange is, he’d be a finalist. The Isles don’t have to be in last place to be overlooked by the media. What Streit has done on the worst team in the league actually should merit MORE consideration, as on many nights he has been out there nearly alone. Before you try to refute that argument, you have to admit that the hockey writers would be saying the exact same thing if Streit had an equal performance for a last place Rangers or Red Wings team.
Streit is definitely good PR for this team as well as the last couple months of play from the youngsters. The Isles are building a team the right way, stickin’ to the plan and in the long run will gain some respect around the league and hopefully interest from FA’s in the future.
Don’t get me wrong it would be great to see Mark in Vegas after being nominated. But I know what we have here. He is a tremendously skilled player, and next year when the pieces continue to fall into place, he will get the recognition and it will be all the more sweet when we can celebrate him accomplishments and some competitive playoff hockey.
“Andy Sutton is signing autographs at the Islanders Team Store at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa on Wednesday from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.”…who is Andy Sutton?
Dreu…
He’s the guy who will incur an upper body injury while signing autographs.
Andy was on a roll when he was hurt, which is too bad for him (and us.)
As far as Streit goes, I am going to agree with Islesin2010 (31) and some others… there is lots of time for him to obtain such recognition. lets just be happy we have such a great player on this team! Take consolation in the fact that there are so many other teams kicking themselves that they didnt go for him (or in the Habs case, keep him!)
I also agree with stevedepot (7): Streit really does make other players around him better. Im thrilled for Bruno, we have seen more developent in him over the second half of this season that I expected even when being optimistic!
….at which point Point Blank will be deluged with comments calling for the head of the Islander’s trainer as well as the head of their penmanship coach.
Post 34, I agree. I have been nothing but critcal of Gervais. He has always been my least favorite player but has played quite well for almost a month now. Good for him and us. He still makes the occaisional bad pass out of the zone but it isn’t as blaringly bad. He has been a much better player w/Streit.
Kid all you want about the trainer stuff but I’ll guarantee that we have lead the league in groin pulls/tears the last three years, after a while you have to look at the conditioning of the players which joke all you want is the trainers responsibility. I know there is no way to control breaks and like injuries but groin injuries can be due to poor conditioning, training, preparation(stretching).
I just realized what you guys were posting about! LOL! Thats what I get for working and posting! Sorry for the triple post!
If Streit is having this much of a dominant season, then it really points out how putrid each and every other d-man on this last place team have been. It’s pretty much a mathematical certainty.
If Streit leads Defensemen in points he may become a finalist. Other than that he wont.
Heres to Willis,post #2…
The Isles have been labeled a Mickey Mouse organization by many but who’s to say the NHL isn’t???
The NHL is a joke the way it’s ran…The NHL shoves “Sid the Kid”, :puke:. in our faces to the point where I can’t stand the guy…They sell the same guys over and over…
Norris? We would finish last even without him. alla, Ralph Kiner!!
Leave the training staff outa this one lol…I blame the ice girls for all of the groin injuries
How is coming back after an injury/illness not showing perseverance and dedication to the game? Has anybody here ever had a serious injury? Rehab is long and painful. Quitting is the easy way out. I couldn’t imagine it for a serious illness.
This league is a joke and he SHOULD be a finalist but we all know because he is on a bad team the league will overlook him.
Disgusting.
45 - im a goalie and had hip surgery in the summer…still go to pt and still play in pain
1-0 Tampa Bay up on Toronto
Go Tampa!!!
Atlanta 1-1 v. Pittsburgh
Hope the game goes OT because I want Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
Glad to see Hamonic getting at the ‘Port. The next Witter is on his way!!!
Where did you hear that from?
woooooooo Tampa up 3-0!
Streit was by far the best offseason move. Maybe some free-agents will see this and be more inclined to come to the Island and play for a coach with a system as aggressive as Gordon’s.
go tampaaa go tamppa go tampppaa
LETS GO BOLTS
LETS GO BOLTS
Hmmm..seems like a stretch to put Streit in the Norris Running. He’s had a solid season offensively and has not stuck out defensively like he did in Montreal. Lets not get carried away with the accolades.
Putting Streit in the top 3 for the Norris is crazy, but he defenitely deserves to be in the top 5 or 6 when the final voting is done. 1) Green, 2)Lidstrom, 3) Boyle, 4) Chara, 5) Weber, 6)Streit.
If Streit played on a power play with ovechkin, semin, backstrom etc. he would have 70 points. If he played with Detroit, same thing. He has been amazing this year both defensively and offensively.
Tampa Bay up 3-0, niceeeeeeee.
IslesPassion21 post #42…. wasn’t it Wayne Gretzky in the 80s that labeled the NJ Devils a Mickey Mouse org… I think we’d all be happy if our so called “Mickey Mouse” org turns the corner and enjoys the success the Devils have had the past 15 years or so.
I think Streit deserves serious consideration for the Norris because he has done more with less talent around him. Green does a lot and is a fantastic player but he plays on a loaded team, he plays with the best player in all of hockey. Chara plays on an excellent team that is battling Boyle and SJ for 1st overall.
I think many NHL FA’s who feel under or wrongly used will look at Streit and find the Isles a nice destination to flourish.
1-0 colorado
3-1 tampon bay
heheheh, tampon bay, hehehehe
Go Bolts!
While I am slightly worried about Colorado and Tampa, it’s Phoenix that scares me. They have not been competitive over the last month, and I wouldnt be surprised if they fall tonight at home v. San Jose.
2-1 Lanche!!!
Avs and Lightning are up - and even though he is a rival congrats to Marty - that place was electric tonight. Good to see
CB, would be interesting to know what system they use to vote for the norris trophy. I threw together a point system using Gp,G,A,P,PPG,PPP,+/-,GWG,TOI,ESP,HTS,BLKS,GVA and TKA.With those numbers its 1.Green 2.Streiet 3.Weber.I am sure those arent the numbers they use,but I can’t see them ignoring Streit.That being said I think it’s Green’s trophy.Congrats Marty.
The way the Penguins are playing, a 3rd rounder is almost guaranteed!!!
I am so concerned about Tampa Bay right now.
Wow, the Devils fans were screaming loud! Congrats to Marty- you do frickin rule, and it was an honor to get half a dozen goals past you in two periods last week!
if phoenix gets to at least 2nd we have a major problem w/ the nhl wanting to see tavares with gretzky ala the nba w/ the knicks and ewing.
Toronto tied it, F the bolts, let’s win in OT
ugh- former Islanders Blake and Hamilton just scored to tie the game for Toronto vs. the Lightning - our luck
toronto getting a point hurts in two ways, raises their draft pick and the obvious of not getting tampa their 2
Agree with your point #73, but the last thing I want to see is a Canadian team in the bottom 5. Currently, NYI, Tampa, Atlanta, Colorado and Phoenix sit in the bottom 5. Not worried about positioning in the second round
Avs blew the lead w/ under 2 mins to play
Leafs win in a shootout
Hopefully Carolina plays desperately against us on Friday night. Once again, this season is a complete wash if we dont get either the #1 or #2 pick
Streit deserves consideration … and CB … I agree … sports writers re-define the meaning of the Norris Trophy …
BTW … a bad night in the TAVHEDUCH watch … TB blowing a 3rd period lead to lose in the SO … Atlanta blown out … and Colorado currently getting tied late … and Phoenix … well .. that game has a lot of time left … not much hope in them beating SJ.
Congrats Marty… Streit deserves a look doubt if he’ll get it barring something miraculous. Some of these awards need to be reconsidered like the Masterton and Norris. I’m all for rewarding guys coming back from cancer but sometimes other people deserve it for on-ice performance.
Curiously why is the watch is called TAVHEDUCH, all I care about it TAV and HED, Duchesne isnt even in the thought process. As far as it being a bad night. We still need to finish with 3 more wins than the Lightning in our last 12, not easy. If the Lanche and Coyotes win, we’d need to finish with 5 more wins than either of them. So a grade for tonight, B-
Tampa was down 3-1 going into the 3rd the other night and got 2 pts. Today, they were up 3-1 going into the 3rd and got 1 pt. If you look at it like that, them getting 3 of 4 pts in that situation is fine. That being said, the lost point tonight is annoying. However, 5 behind rather than 4 is huge for obvious reasons.
2-0 Coyotes!!!
Nothing would be sweeter than a Pittsburgh first round win and a San Jose first round loss!!!
2-0 Phoenix in the 1st
If Phoenix wins that would be huge. they would be 8 points up and will have 5 more wins then us. Tampa blowing that lead stings, but at this stage of the season even 1 point is huge for us.
That is the way to look at it hubie30
… alan … I’m with ya … I’d like to drop the Duch part out myself … I’m just not convinced the Isles will even finsih in the bottom 2 at this point …
***
Streit should be considered even more IMO … mostly because he should be commended for his performance in playing with a team with NO offense and defending infront of minor league goalies all year.
Uggghhh … 3rd post anyway … Avs just blew it too … bad night … not even going to stay up to watch the Yotes blow the lead … night all!!
3-0 Yotes - now they are in prime position to blow it like the Avs and Lightning did already tonight….
3-0 Phoenix!!!
How sad are we???? I love it!!!!!
Comment Guidelines: http://www.islanderspointblank.com/2008/12/comment-guidelinesthese-are-effective-immediately/
C’mon CB, there is only a few of us on this late. Can we post a little more then usual????
I was at the United Center for the Isles game on Sunday. I was one of about 15 Islanders fans in the place, but our small group had a real good time. Thank you Peter Mannino!!
i know the blown leads by tampa and colorado are tough to swallow but the way i look at it is that its better than nothing….come on phoenix now! tavares is destiny!
Yotes win 4-3.
relax….the isles will get the Tavares option…
DONE DEAL.
I know this won’t come with much fan fare, refering to John’s post #9 about Shanahan being a nominee for the “Masterson Award”, dare I mention Sean Avery in that mix???
No doubt he’s a low character guy but he can be considered because he was “dedicated and he preservered”…
Bring on the Avery bashing, like I said I am not a fan, but can appreciate what he brings to a team like the Rags…
This guy plays for the worst team, ever. His team gets gutted night after night. Even when they manage to outplay an other team, they need to prey and hope in order to get the win.
He scores most of his point on the PP, which do not add to the +’s. He still manages to be +7. Doesn’t that say that his team is better when he is on the ice? I understand the “no value” aspect for the Norris and that it is easier to be the best of the worst team, but when 4 other players get to be better when they are on the ice at the same time as he is… I mean, doesn’t that make him a contender?
Der Mark wirds packe und nach vegas ga! (i.e. Mark will go to LV in swiss german)
Greetings from chris, who came especially over to the states for 3 games (in tampa, new jersey and philly) to see mark and saw all the game he was missing because of his injury. bad luck